Onoh Writes Open Letter To President Tinubu

*Open Letter to His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR
President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces
Federal Republic of Nigeria*

*Subject: The Nomination of Mr. Reno Omokri as Ambassadorial Nominee – An Unprecedented Insult to Your Excellency and a Grave Danger to Nigeria’s Image and Moral Future*

Your Excellency,

With the highest sense of loyalty, respect and patriotism, I am compelled to bring to your kind attention a matter that has caused deep anguish, disbelief and outrage among millions of your supporters across the country and in the diaspora: the reported inclusion of Mr. Reno Omokri on the latest ambassadorial nominees list.

Mr. President, no one doubts your large heart and your legendary capacity for forgiveness. You have demonstrated this virtue repeatedly. However, forgiveness is a personal virtue; the office you occupy today is not personal. You are no longer just Bola Ahmed Tinubu Tinubu, the man. You are now the embodiment of 220 million Nigerians — our pride, our voice, our face and our collective property. An injury to your person and office is an injury to the entire nation.

For several years, Mr. Reno Omokri used every available platform — books, television, television, radio, newspaper columns and social media — to launch the most vicious, sustained and malicious attacks ever directed at Your Excellency. He did not attack your policies; he attacked your person, your family and your integrity in the most despicable manner. Permit me to remind Your Excellency of just a few of his public statements:

– He repeatedly called you a “drug baron” and “narcotics kingpin” whose assets were forfeited to the United States because of proceeds of narcotics trafficking.
– He wrote and published a book titled “Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of Bola Tinubu’s Drug Case” solely to perpetuate this narrative globally.
– He openly celebrated and amplified every negative report about you in the international media, including the certificate and identity controversies.
– He described you as “the godfather of corruption in Nigeria” and claimed Lagos was built with looted funds.
– During the 2023 campaign, he said voting for you was voting for “a known drug dealer to become president.”

These were not private opinions. These were deliberate, calculated and widely circulated attacks designed to destroy your reputation at home and abroad.

Your Excellency, sending the same Reno Omokri as an ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is the greatest insult that can ever be offered to the millions who defended you with their blood, sweat and resources. It is an insult to every Nigerian because:

1. It validates and internationalises every lie he told about you. The moment he presents his letter of credence in any capital, the first Google search about him will return headlines like “Tinubu appoints man who called him drug baron as ambassador.” That narrative will never die.

2. It hands a propaganda victory on a gold platter to your domestic and international detractors. Individuals like George Galloway (British politician with over 1 million followers) and others who have consistently pushed the “drug baron” narrative will celebrate this appointment as proof that their lies were true and that you are only “buying silence.”

3. It destroys the moral foundation of our young people. When children see that a man who spent years calling the President a drug dealer is rewarded with one of the highest diplomatic honours, what message are we sending? That principle, truth and decency no longer matter? That the fastest way to Aso Rock is to abuse the President and later beg for forgiveness? This single act risks eroding the moral fibre of an entire generation.

4. It tells every loyal supporter who stood by you in the rain and sun that loyalty is foolish, and that betrayal pays far better.

Your Excellency, ambassadors are not just representatives; they are the face and voice of Nigeria in foreign lands. We cannot send a man who told the whole world that Nigeria is led by a drug baron to now go and tell the same world that Nigeria is a decent, responsible nation. The contradiction is too glaring to ignore.

Mr. President, I humbly plead with you: withdraw this nomination. It is not too late. Let the Senate, in its wisdom, also rise to the occasion and save our collective future, particularly the moral future of our children. Political convenience must never be placed above national dignity and the moral health of our youth.

Your supporters are not asking for vengeance. We are asking for respect — respect for the office you occupy, respect for the sacrifices we made, and respect for the image of Nigeria.

May God continue to grant Your Excellency wisdom, courage and strength to lead this nation aright.

Yours in national service,

Denge.Josef Onoh

Former Spokesperson, Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council (South East)